Combination air cleaner and intake silencer and mounting assembly therefor



Oct. 12, 1954 J. B. SEBOK 2,691,424

COMBINATION AIR CLEANER AND INTAKE SILENCER AND MOUNTING ASSEMBLY THEREFOR Filed May 1, 1952 Patented Oct. 12, 1954 COMBINATION AIR CLEANER AND INTAKE SILENCER, THEREFOR,

AND MOUNTING ASSEMBLY Joseph B. Sebok, Detroit, Mich assignor to Houdaille-H-ershey Corporation, Detroit, Mich, a

corporation of Michigan Application May 1, 1952, Serial No. 285,452

3 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in a combination air cleaner and intake silencer and mounting assembly therefor, the invention being highly desirable for use in connection with the mounting of a combination air cleaner and in take silencer or an air intake horn, such as is embodied in a carburetor for an internal combustion engine for automotive use, although the invention will have other uses and purposes as will be apparent to one skilled in the art.

Combination air cleaner and intake silencer units have, for a number of years, been associated with the carburetors of automobile engines. These silencers, in nearly every instance, include an attenuating chamber sized as to volume to nullify the fundamental tone emanating from the intake manifold of the internal combustion engine. In some cases, other chambers of lesser size are also incorporated to nullify other tones of the engine, in the event such other tones are of sufiicient strength to require attenuation. In nearly every instance, heretofore, the structure of the cleaner and silencer unit was such that there was direct metal-to-metal contact between the carburetor and a wall or casing portion of the unit enclosing at least partially the main attenuating chamber. Due to noises occurring in the engine of an unexpected character, other than the fundamental engine tone commonly referred to as power roar, such silencers proved most ineffective in that this unexpected noise was actually amplified by the silencer, and in certain cases to such an extent that there was more noise with the air cleaner and silencer in place than without it. These unexpected noises may result from valve knock, piston slap, or by virtue of some part of the engine providing an unexpectedly loose fit with an adjacent part, such as may occur when manufacturing tolerances vary in opposite directions substantially to the full extent. It is virtually impossible to design an air cleaner capable of attenuating these unexpected noises, since two identical engines may have different such noises, and it is of course prohibitively expensive to design a silencer for each individual engine.

The amplification of such unexpected noises was caused by the wall of the major silencing chamber, which normally acts upon the resonator principle to neutralize sound waves of a particular frequency and wave length, acting as a drum head by virtue of the metal-to-metal contact continuation between this wall and the engine through the carburetor.

In my copending application entitled Outlet and Mounting Assembly for Air Cleaner and Intake Silencer, filed March 31, 1949, Serial No. 84,597, now abandoned, means are set forth and claimed to eliminate the amplification of unex-- pected noises. The instant invention is an improvement on and a continuation-in-part of that invention set forth in my aforesaid copending application.

Accordingly, an important object of the instant invention is to provide an air cleaning and intake silencing unit equipped with a mounting assembly that totally eliminates metal-to-metal contact between the carburetor and the body portion of the unit.

The instant invention also has the object of providing a unit of the character referred to above, wherein the mounting assembly is more economical and simpler to assemble than the structure set forth in my aforesaid copending application.

Still another object of the invention resides in the provision of a mounting assembly for an air cleaning and intake silencing unit incorporating a shock absorbing element which need not be of tubular form at the outset, but which may be merely a strip or extrusion.

Still a further object of this invention resides in the provision of a mounting assembly for an air cleaner and carburetor silencer unit, embodying a shock absorbing element comprising initially a strip of resilient material, or a ring of resilient material, preformed with a groove to receive a metallic flange by which the entire body portion of the unit is supported.

While some of the more salient features, characteristics and advantages of the instant invention have been above pointed out, others will be come apparent from the following disclosures, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which- Figure 1 is a fragmentary bottom plan view of an air cleaner and silencer unit embodying principles of the instant invention;

Figure 2 is an enlarged part side elevational, part vertical sectional view of the structure of Fig. 1 in upright position;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary greatly enlarged projectional view of the resilient mounting and shock absorbing element used in the instant assembly; and.

Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view, being an enlargement of the lower right hand central portion of Fig. 2.

As shown on the drawings:

In the illustrated embodiment of the instant invention there is shown an air cleaner and intake silencing unit comprising a pair of separable casing sections, an upper section generally indicated by numeral 1 and the lower section generally indicated by numeral 2. The air cleaning element is of the liquid bath type, and the lower casing section 2 is arranged to enclose a plurality of sound attenuating chambers of the resonator type.

The upper casing section I includes a filter holding shell 3, an inner shell forming a portion of the outlet conduit, indicated at 4, a filter mass disposed between the shells 3 and 4, and a bafile 5a depending from the lower portion of the structure below the filter element to limit the amount of cleansing liquid carried into the element by traveling air. Over this entire structure and secured to the outer shell 3 is a cover 6.

The lower casing section 2 may be fabricated in any suitable manner from a number of pieces of material. This casing section includes an outer wall I, an inner substantially vertical wall 8 spaced in its upper portion from the filter holding shell 3 to define an air inlet passage 9 therebetween. A top partition I0 extending generally laterally is dished downwardly to form a sump for cleansing liquid ll below the baffle and filter mass of the top section, and is connected to an inner vertically extending outlet conduit l2 for clean air, this conduit forming a continuation of the inner shell 4 of the upper section. Below the top or partition in is another partition l3 which also extends laterally and is connected to the outlet conduit I2, this partition enclosing an attenuating chamber [4 for a relatively high pitched sound of short wave length, entrance to the chamber being had through one or more apertures IS in the outlet conduit l2 between the adjacent ends of the partitions I0 and 13. Between the side walls I and 8, and the partition 13 and the bottom 18 of the lower casing section, is an attenuating chamber [1 of relatively great volume, sized to nullify the fundamental engine tone, this usually being a relatively low sound of longer wave length and lower frequency. Entrance is had to the chamber I! by way of a passage l8 between a fabricated connection conduit, generally indicated by numeral l9, and the aforesaid clean air outlet l2, the fabricated conduit being concentric with but of greater diameter than the outlet conduit [2.

The two casing sections are removably held together in assembled position by any suitable means, such as a bolt 20 securely held in a 2 bar 2| extending across the clean air outlet l2 and projecting upwardly through the cover of the upper section 6 where it may be engaged by the usual form of wing nut, not illustrated.

Now looking at the fabricated connection conduit ill, with particular reference to Fig. 4, it will be seen that this conduit includes an inner upper ring 22 and an outer and longer ring 23 connected to the inner ring in the upper portion, and then struck outwardly to define a seat for a gasket 24 between the rings, which gasket seats against the upper edge portion of a carburetor air intake horn. It will be especially noted that the fabricated connecting conduit 19 while circumscribing the outlet conduit I2 is never in contact therewith and there is no connection between these conduits directly, but only indirectly by way of the bottom [6 of the lower casing section, the side walls 1 and 8, and the partitions l0 and I3 thereof.

Disposed around the upper portion of the ring 23 above the gasket seating offset is a resilient shock absorbing ring 25.

With reference now to Fig. 3, it will be seen that this ring is preferably an initially substantially flat strip or extrusion, and may satisfactorily be made of synthetic rubber or equivalent material. This element 25 has a straight inside face 26 for disposition against the upper cylindrical portion of the ring 23, and an outwardly and downwardly sloping upper margin 21. The inner face of the ring is substantially straight, but the upper portion above a longitudinal groove 28 is of less width than the lower portion. At the lower outer end of the ring, there is an arcuate bead 29 to the inside of which is a flat surface 30 to rest upon the offset portion of the ring 23 as seen in Fig. 2.

As also seen in Figs. 2 and 4, the bottom l6 of the lower casing section has an upstanding cylindrical portion 3| terminating at the top in a horizontal inwardly extending flange 32. The portion 3| seats against the outer face of the ring 25 below the groove 28, while the flange 32 enters intimately into that groove.

In assembling the parts just above described, a portion of the ring or strip 25 of sufficient length to form a circle inside the part 31 of the bottom I6 is taken, and placed in position inside that portion 3|, with the flange 32 in the groove 28 of the ring. The ring 23 or entire fabricated connecting conduit assembly 19 may then he slipped through the inside of the resilient ring 25, the upper marginal portion of the ring 22 being cylindrical at this time. After the ring 23 has been slipped through the resilient ring 25, the upper margin of the ring 22 is turned downwardly over the slope 21 of the ring 25 as indicated at 22a in Fig. 2. This effectively locks the parts in assembled position, with the flange 32 clamped in the groove 28 of the resilient ring 25 and with the resilient ring 25 compressed between the portion 3! at the bottom and the conduit ring 23. The bead 29 on the lower outer portion of the resilient ring 25 aids materially in establishing an interlocking engagement and further in preventing any accidental metal-to-metal contact between the bottom l6 and the outer ring 23 of the connecting conduit.

The connecting conduit [9 may be disposed with the lower portion below the gasket 24 around the upper margin of a carburetor air intake horn, and locked into a position on the carburetor intake horn by means of a circumscribing open ended clamp 33, the ends of which are drawn together or expanded by a suitable bolt and nut connection 34.

As seen in Fig. 2, the bottom It is provided with a groove or channel at 35 to accommodate the bolt 34 which extends beyond the casing to a point of ready access where it is provided with a looped end 36 for easy manipulation.

It will be seen that when the air cleaner and silencing unit is mounted on the intake horn of a carburetor, the entire body portion of the unit is supported by the resilient ring 25 surrounding the upper portion of the connecting conduit 19. Therefore there can be no metal-to-meal contact directly or indirectly between the cleaning and silencing unit and the carburetor, the resilient element 25 not only preventing such contact, but also serving to absorb shocks due to vibration. The silencing, especially of the fundamental engine tone, is therefore complete, with out danger of any amplification of unexpected engine noises.

It will be understood that modifications and variations may be effected without departing from the scope of the novel concepts of the present invention.

I claim as my invention:

1. In an air cleaner and intake silencer unit, a casing, air cleansing means in said casing, means in said casing defining with the bottom thereof a sound attenuating chamber, the bottom of said casing having a central opening therein, a central outlet conduit for clean air connected with said cleansing means, a connecting conduit concentric with but of larger diameter and completely spaced from said outlet conduit for connection with an air intake horn, a resilient member circumscribing said connecting conduit and having an annular groove therein, an inwardly extending annular flange on the casing bottom entered into said groove, and the inner margin of said connecting conduit being outwardly turned over the upper portion of said resilient member above said groove to compress said resilient member and close the groove tightly on said inner margin.

2. In an air cleaner and intake silencer unit, a casing, air cleansing means in said casing, means in said casing defining with the bottom thereof a sound attenuating chamber, the bottom of said casing having a central opening therein, a central outlet conduit for clean air connected with said cleansing means, a connecting conduit concentrio with but of larger diameter and spaced completely from said outlet conduit for connection with an air intake horn, a resilient member circumscribing said connecting conduit and having an annular groove therein, an inwardly extending annular flange on the casing bottom entered into said groove, said resilient member being clamped between said connecting conduit and an upstanding portion of 'the casing bottom, and an outwardly projecting bead on the lower portion of said resilient member to insure complete separation of the casing bottom and said connecting conduit.

3. In an air cleaner and intake silencer unit, a casing, air cleansing means in said casing, means in said casing defining with the bottom thereof a sound attenuating chamber, the bottom of said casing having a central opening therein, a central outlet conduit for clean air connected with said cleansing means, an inner tubular connecting element concentric with and completely spaced from said outlet conduit, an outer upstanding tubular element on the casing bottom around said opening, a resilient tubular element between and separating the first said tubular elements, one of the first said tubular elements having the upper margin turned over the resilient element, the other of the first said tubular elements having projecting means extending partially through said resilient element, and one of said elements inside said outer element extending below the others for connection to an air intake horn.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,198,568 Yonkers Apr. 23, 1940 2,335,963 Ponselle Dec. '1, 1943 2,534,808 Bevington Dec. 19, 1950 2,557,237 Sebok June 19, 1951 

